Goochland residents protest plans for sporting clays range

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GOOCHLAND COUNTY, Va. (WTVR) - The battle lines have been drawn in Goochland.

On one side is a quiet neighborhood. On the other is a woman who wants to put a shooting range within earshot of the neighborhood.

Orapax Hunting Preserve on River Road West wants to expand and build a commercial sporting clays range.

The owner, Andrew Dykers, applied for the conditional use permit. His former daughter in law, Crystal Dykers, manages the preserve.

The preserve has tried twice before. Once in 1991, and again in 2007, and rejected both times by the Goochland Board of Supervisors because it violated the county’s ordinance claiming it would disrupt the comfort of residents nearby, and possibly hurt their property values.

However, this time may be different because there’s a new Board of Supervisors looking at Orapax’s application permit.

Residents on Dogtown Road near Orapax say they plan to fight the permit. So far, they’ve gotten 100 signatures on a petition against the sporting clays range. They've also posted signs on their front lawns.

The residents say they are not against guns. In fact, some of them are hunters, but their issue is that sound of sporting clays activity is constant.

“There would be up to 2,000 additional shots per day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year,” says resident Linda Trice.

While they do have a new Board of Supervisors looking at the permit this time, the ordinance remains the same and that’s bringing hope.

Tucker Hill has been living on Dogtown Road for 35 years.

“We’ve just got to take our chances and give them the best argument that we can give them… [We] got a good case against this,” he said.

The conditional permit application goes before the Goochland Planning Commission September 20.